Tides Of Protomis XXV(25)

A Reunion

The very next day, the group of six found themselves walking in the streets of Kingston once again. Most of those there, en-route to try to find their targets… Aside from one, however, a certain brown-haired man who was looking for a different kind of target, to say the least. And, just like that, one fell into their sights. A fair-skinned girl around their age, her golden hair flowing behind her as she walked. Kazimir smirked, as he began to step forward, ready to make his move, at the least, until a dark hand was placed on his shoulder. He glanced behind him, seeing the source of the hand, Arctaius. He stepped forward, shooting him a sharp glance.

“Don’t...Even...Think about it- We don’t have time for that.”

Kazimir stepped in front of him.

“Come on, corde- are you really okay with having this group filled with nothing but males?! We haven’t talked to any girls since Valaria- and she’s already spoken for...Though it's not as if I'd take her anyway.”

Arctaius gave no response.

“Come on guys, help me out here!”

Strolling past the two, was Alarick.

“That sounds like a personal problem…” He responded.

Soon, Liang walked past them as well.

“Agreed.”

Arctaius did the same, and soon, the last remaining three passed Kazimir by as well. Now, as he watched them begin to leave his sight, he began following.

“Tch... Fine then, I’ll just pick up girls by myself.”

“Yeah, Sure you will…”

Now, they continued to make their way to their location, stopping just in front of what looked to be a small restaurant, constructed of bricks. The sign at the top simply marked, “Grant’s” The first to step forward was Arctaius. All the while, behind him, the other 5 members glanced at each other in confusion, Liang stepped forward, stopping just behind him.

“If you don’t mind me asking… Why exactly are we here?”

Arctaius glanced over his shoulder.

“I told you I had an old friend here, didn’t I?”

Alarick walked forward as well, opening the front door.

“As long as it helps us with our plans, I see no issue.”

Now, they all stepped inside, something that caught the attention of a dark-skinned youth sitting at one of the many tables, his dark eyes, the same color of his head of dreadlocks, began to move across the group. At the least, it was better than the empty being empty.

“Normally don’t get anyone at this hour. Welcome to Grant’s.”

“Thanks. We’re looking for someone right now, his name is Kurt Grant... You seen him around?”

Then, the man focused his gaze on the source of the words, Arctaius. He paused, as he put his hand on his chin.

“I’m Kurt Grant... Why would you need-”

He paused.

“Wait… You look familiar… Wait, TAIUS?! Is that you?”

He stood up, as his eyes widened from enthusiasm… And, a smile even found its way onto Arctaius’ face.

“I wondered if you guys made it out okay…”

Alarick stepped forward.

“Someone else you know?” He questioned.

“Yeah. Me and Kurt go way back. Back to when I still lived in Roanoke…”

“Yeah! We should talk… Lucky for you guys, I already got some food ready. You all hungry?”

Now, Arctaius walked past him, sitting down.

“Haven’t eaten since yesterday. I could eat... “

This earned nods from all of the others there.

“Alright, I’ll have it out soon. Don’t worry about payin’ either. A friend of his is a friend of mine.”

Now, they all took their seats at their respective tables, while Kurt seemingly disappeared into the back. For a while, they all sat there, waiting. About 20 minutes later, out came Kurt, with a cart full of food, Curry Goat, Oxtails, Jerk Chicken, Rice and Peas, Roti, and, even more on top of that. The chef himself strolled over to Arctaius’ table as he spoke.

“You guys take your pick. I already ate earlier.”

It was only then that he sat down… Leading to the others in the room getting up to reach for their respective dishes. He sat, watching, as they all made their way to their seats. With his old friend Re-taking his spot.

“So, Corde, how’ve you been, haven’t seen you in years!”

“I’d say I've been fine… But, unfortunately, I can’t stay for long. I have to ask, do you know what happened to any of our friends?”

As the words left his mouth but, as he did, one could take note of something, that, it seemed as if Kurt’s mood had changed… The happy man that was once there looked to have disappeared.

“I…”

He trailed off, going silent for some time before he sighed.

“I don’t know. I got out in the nick of time, we were visiting my grandma, and I got out just in time... But I can't say the same for the rest of my family... When the A.R hit the airport, I got separated. I was fortunate enough to be close enough to the jet to get in.”

Arctaius hummed in acknowledgment.

“How about you, Corde? You know what happened to Wilson, or Hawkins?”

Arctaius closed his eyes, as he shook his head.

“I was hoping you might know.”

By now… Nobody felt the want to say anything, after all, something like that was what many of them had experienced. In fact, many of them didn’t even move. Zhao stopped eating his curry, and Kazimir, the Roti in his hand. It was something that echoed their own pasts, to say the least. But, even so, they needed to get moving. Surprisingly, the one who broke the silence wasn’t too far away from where this’d taken place.

“It just looks like we’ll have to keep looking, then... Speaking of that, Kurt, have you seen anything strange happening around here? I’d prefer not to give any details as of yet, but we’re searching for a group, a secretive one.”

He raised an eyebrow at the question and began to debate an answer. Would he press him for more information? Act as if he hadn’t seen anything? After all, who would stop those guys if they figured out the info came from him... He wasn’t seen, or he didn’t think he was, but the chances were never zero. Away, the silence continued for quite a bit, as thoughts, and scenarios raced through his mind. This wasn’t a decision he could take lightly. Eventually, however, Kurt exhaled, as he began speaking.

“Alright… A few weeks ago, I saw some guys up north, in the Blue Mountains. Running around with gauss rifles, full armor too. Didn’t catch any of what they were saying, but it didn't sound like any language I've heard.”

Arctaius glanced around the room, taking note of the nods from the other fighters.

“Alright… That’ll be enough, thanks for the help.”

Arctaius lifted himself from his seat, soon followed by the other fighters doing the same.

“We’ll back if we have time-”

“Hold on…”

Arctaius paused, as he was cut off.

“At least, give me your contacts. Wouldn’t want an old friend to disappear after all these years.” Kurt continued

The youth pulled out a thin metal slab, it being clear to them what it was.

“That seems fine to me…”

Ten or so minutes later, with a bit more catching up, and contacts exchanged, the tides and their allies strolled out of Grant’s restaurant. Now, they began walking down the street once more, stepping in front of them all, was the weapon master himself.

“We know where to look. So that wasn’t a COMPLETE waste of time…” He mumbled.

“Just the general area, though... This looks like it’ll be Niopolis 2.0” Alarick Responded.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

They all glanced at the source of the words, Bijan.

“We never worked together, but me and Liang used to be assassins. Stealth, Tracking, We got it all.”

The other mentioned spoke as well.

“Indeed… Did it not surprise you that we got that close to the manor? Especially with that flashy guy, we had to drag around.”

“Good. We won’t have to dwell here for long.” Zhao said.

Now, they all went silent, continuing their walk… At the least, until, in the distance, Arctaius heard not one, but multiple pairs of feet, and they were approaching quickly. It was only then that Arctaius stopped walking. This was something that caught the attention of the others, as, they noticed the slowing in his pace. Though they did not stop, they did glance back at him. At the least, until they took note of who was behind him. Akashi, Yudei, And Shinto ran through the streets of Kingston.

“TAIUS!”

Arctaius’ eyes widened.

“Yudei?!”

They all continued running, something that caused the other members of the group to stop. However, they all paled in comparison to a certain girl, who seemingly kicked up dust as she zoomed past the rest of the group, much to their surprise. And, nearly knocked over, was Ketamura. He began to tip back and forth, attempting to regain his balance. But, the rocking finally stopped as he did so.

“What the? I’ve never seen her go that fast!”

Asami, as she reached Arctaius, seemed to leap, before, as she got close, throwing her arms around his torso, and pulling herself closer… Arctaius looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. This definitely wasn’t normal behavior for her, so what was going on here?!

“When did you all get here? I thought you were back in Tokyo.”

Asami’s gaze shot up to Arctaius’ face in response.

“When we got here isn’t the point, idiot!! I was so worried about you, don’t you know how to answer a call?!”

The words were soon followed by the girl closing the distance between their faces. Soon followed by Arctaius inching away. Now, the two groups began to converge, forming a half-circle around them.

“Those two really are close.” Akashi mumbled

Alarick glanced at him in response, before speaking.

“They act like that and then say there’s nothing between them?”

The monk focused his gaze on them as he watched this take place.

“Although, right now- that seems to be more her than it is him…”

Now, the words began to replay in the two’s heads. Over and over, until they took note of what they were doing, almost immediately getting him out of her grip, and stepping back. Soon followed by the crossing of her arms, and a tint beginning to cover her cheeks. Proceeding to look away, with A tint of red covering her face. She looked away, and so did Arctaius. And, in unison, the two spoke.

“That’s because there isn’t!”

Unbeknownst to them, another group member was making his way toward them. At the least, until, all of the proto-humans felt a tingling between their shoulders. Something that alerted them to a fact, another proto-human was approaching, and they weren’t weak, that was for sure. Arctaius began to glance around. As did many of the others, at the least, until they identified the source, a white-haired youth walking toward them, Hashimoto Jirou.

“Oi- Corde”

Now, Arctaius soon followed suit, walking toward the source of the words. Now, the two old rivals approached each other, Arctaius was the first to speak.

“I guess you came here as well then. Mind explaining?”

“Some guy named Tsumotsu- he said he was a member of the Silver Lions...Elite Proto-human task force. Everyone knows em’, nobody knows the members… You have connections to people like that? Though- that’s not the point, he said something about a Kaemerge Empire, I think...Heard you and these ones here got roughed up by one of the leaders. so I decided to come over…”

He gestured at the Yudei, Shinto, and Akashi.

“These four happened to sneak on.”

While Arctaius said nothing, Asami perked up at his words.

“Roughed Up?”

Just what did he mean by that? Asami silently eyed Arctaius’ torso, as she remembered what she saw in Niopolis. Now, she began to inch closer, catching his gaze. Even so, she quickly unzipped the hoodie. Followed by lifting his shirt, revealing the numerous scars that covered his chest… But, her focus was not on those, rather, the seemingly fresh gashes on his side, though somewhat healed from before, many still dripped with blood. Her eyes widened like saucers as she leaned forward.

“What the?! How are you walking around with cuts like this!”

Arctaius averted his gaze as he took note of her expression.

“It's simple… I move one leg forward, and then I move on to the next… Which allows me to propel myself. I also make sure to keep track of bal-”

“Don’t try to distract me, Corde- I’ve you figured out by now- we’ve known each other for years!”

Just like that, he went silent as she cut him off. He soon took note of her squinted eyes, as well as arched brows. As he opened his mouth to respond, he did not get a chance, as she grabbed him by his sleeve, dragging him away. Getting a few feet away, before,

“You’re going to rest- and I’m not taking no for an answer!!”

Her yell echoed through the street, it began to draw the gazes of many crowds of people in the area. As she dragged him through, much faster than one would expect, the people in the area began to clear the way, unwilling to get in her way... All the while, the group stood watching this.

“Just how strong is she? Corde is like 3 times her size, and yet she pulls him that easily?” Akashi questioned.

Beside him, Shinto shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I think it’d be much easier to leave that unanswered…” Shinto mumbled.

“ She’s likely taking him back to the hotel… Follow me.”

“Gah!”

Ketamura jumped at the voice, glancing over his shoulder to see Tsumotsu.

“When did you get here? I didn’t even hear you coming!!”

Alarick put his hand on his chin, debating his next course of action.

“Well…”

He paused.

“It beats sleeping on the rooftops.”

Liang nodded.

“We should go to find out where the hotel is, and start searching afterward.”

As this was said, Tsumotsu began walking, with the others following him.

Part B

Some hours had passed, and, by this time, the sun had set on Kingston. Its light was replaced by those of the city's many buildings, and those on the streets. As for those who’d arrived in Kingston, they all found themselves in a hotel. A building both tall, and wide. The room a certain two found themselves in, was not run-down or anything of the like. It was a bit plain, yet, it was nothing they couldn’t deal with. In one of two beds in the room, Arctaius laid within, covers reaching his chest. All the while, the one who’d dragged him there, sat on a desk and chair that sat just beside him, giving her a view of the city around her, if she wanted it. Even so, her gaze was not on the city, rather, she kept her watchful gaze on him. All the while Arctaius looked forward… He had hoped to wait her out, but it seemed that wasn’t going to work either. Now, he finally returned her gaze.

“Why are you so insistent on keeping me here? I can handle myself.”

“You say that in the state you’re in..?” She responded.

“I've been through worse.”

Now, she swiveled the chair, beginning to put her eyes on the city, watching the people on the ground, as well as the cars speeding on the roads along with them.

“Is that supposed to make me feel any better? If anything, that just makes it worse…”

Now, Arctaius put his gaze elsewhere, his gaze now facing the ceiling.

“Who told her that I needed her help...And it doesn't look like she’s leaving anytime soon...This will be a hindrance to me.”

He glanced over at Asami, who hunched over the desk, resting her chin on her palm.

“Fine...If she won’t give up, I may as well get some sleep out of this...I’ll do what I planned to do before Yuutaro attacked- and leave the moment I get the chance.”

Now, he closed his eyes, turning onto his side, and facing away from Asami. She glanced at him, as she heard the creak of the mattress. She sat there in silence for some time. Only, as movement from him ceased, did she let out a whisper.

“How am I supposed to make him believe that…”

Eventually, she began to drift over to the man’s sleeping form, brushing her fingers through his hair. Though she gained no response, she was content to keep doing so.

At the least, until the next morning, Arctaius’ awakened, turning his body, and, taking note of Asami, though still in the chair, hunched over the bed, softly snoring. This made him look taken aback, even if slightly. But, he soon returned to his standard poker face, looking down on her for some time.

“You fell asleep here of all places…?”

He turned away from her once more, as he swung his legs over the other edge of the bed. Letting them dangle for a second, before he got up, and walked around, stopping just beside her.

“You worry too much…”

He looked down on her once more, before putting his hand forward.

“Oi.”

He began poking her cheeks, to no effect. Then, he tried to shake her awake, gaining nothing but a groan, muffled by the comforter.

“Wake up already…”

Though he tried shaking her again, she did not. Only uttering some muttered Gibberish, and squirming a bit. Arctaius removed his hand, as he took another step toward her, laying her on the bed.

“I guess she’s a heavy sleeper. Although that works to my advantage... Time to go.”

Arctaius took note of his clothing, folded on a nearby dresser, a pair of jeans, and a black shirt. He quickly put it on. Then he took notice of his hoodie on a coat rack beside the door. He was quick to grab it, slipping it on, and zipping it up. Now, he walked toward the door, stopping just in front of it, as he glanced back at the girl. He kept his gaze on her for a few seconds. Before he decidedly unlocked and opened the door. He took note of the group that had amassed in front of the door. The other three tides, Liang, Bijan, and Jirou stood there, dressed in their regular clothing. He closed the door behind him, as his gaze moved between them.

“... Well, one of the two lovebirds is up.” Alarick noted.

Arctaius focused on him.

“Shut Up- Half-Pint…Aside from that, have you found anything?”

Jirou nodded.

“Yeah… We found out where the base was- it’s in the very outskirts of Kingston- Beyond the suburbs…”

Now, Arctaius took a few steps forward as he spoke.

“Alright… Let’s get going before this one wakes up...It’ll make this a lot easier.”

Now, they all began a dash to the right, moving down the hallway, until their forms looked to have disappeared. Two others exited a door just in front of them, unaware of the group. Akashi was the first to exit, soon followed by Yudei. At first, they chattered between themselves. At the least, until, dashing by, was the group of seven… They went stiff as they took note of who was with them, following them with their eyes, until they began to make their way down the stairs. And they could no longer see them. The two glanced at each other, and put their gazes forward. Now, they stood in silence once more.

“Taius was with them!” Yudei yelled.

“Oh man… Hoshi is not gonna be happy about this one when she finds out… Especially if she figures out we didn’t stop him.”

The two stand silently at this, looking at one another, then looking forward once again. With this- Akashi turns, sprinting in the opposite direction of the group.

“ GOTTA GO- SEE YA!!”

“HUH?! Don’t just leave me here!! What if she finds out?!”

“What if she finds out what, Exactly…?”

Now, Yudei went stiff once more, especially as he heard the seething voice... Now, he slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder, taking note of Asami’s expression… She was, to say the least. The man went silent for a moment before he stepped away from her.

“D-don’t worry, Sh-Shinto will explain it!”

With his friend thrown under the bus, he began sprinting away as well, following Akashi… For a few moments, Asami stood in the hallway alone, until, coming out of a door, just left of Arctaius’, Shinto’s large form emerged with a yawn. He rubbed his eyes as he placed his glasses on.

“Come on you guys… such a ruckus this early- can’t you have some Dec-”

However, he promptly went silent as he took note of Asami’s expression. Now, he stood there, exchanging glances with her, before promptly stepping back into his room, grabbing the knob, slowly closing the door to the door. Leaving Asami standing alone once more. She grumbled for a few moments as she thought of a course of action… And then, she took off after Yudei.

To Be Continued